Jurisdiction:

       Consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General of India, Chicago covers following states:

         1.  ILLINOIS     2.  INDIANA      3.  IOWA     4.  MICHIGAN       5.  MINNESOTA

          7.  MISSOURI  8. NORTH DAKOTA   9.  SOUTH DAKOTA   10.  WISCONSIN  

Address:

455,  North City Front Plaza Drive,
NBC Tower Bldg,  Suite # 850, 
Chicago,   Illinois - 60611.                        

Telephone Nos: 312 - 595 - 0405  to  0410

Counter Timings (for submission of documents):

      Submission of documents:                 9.00 am to 12.30 pm  (Monday thru Friday)
       Pick-up / Delivery of documents:       3.30  pm  to   5.00 pm Monday thru Friday) 

Services like extension of validity of existing passports (only if existing passport issued from Chicago)  legalization / attestation of documents etc. are rendered on the same day if the documents are submitted between 9.00 am  to 12.00 pm.  Documents submitted between 12.00 pm to 1.00 pm will be delivered the next day. Processing schedule, requirement of supporting documents, amount and mode of payment of fee etc have been indicated in following pages under the title “Passport Instructions” on Main Page.  This time schedule, however, does not apply to cases where prior references are required to be made to other passport issuing authorities. Urgent Service (same day) for Passport, against an additional payment of $ 90/- and production of confirmed air ticket in original, is available only in cases involving compassionate circumstances i.e. same day /next day travel due to death/hospitalization in the family back in India.  This service is not available on any other count.  

Visas are normally issued on the same day between 3.30 p.m. & 5.00 p.m. in the case of applications received at the visa counter of the Consulate.  However, in cases of urgency, on-the-spot visas are also issued on payment of an additional fees of $ 35.00. 

Please note that additional fee for emergency service(s)  has been fixed in accordance with instructions of  Government of India and this Consulate is not empowered to either waive or reduce the same.

 The residential telephone numbers given above  be used only in an emergent situation and not for making routine consular enquiry.

Custody of Passport:  Passport is a valuable document. As such It should always be either in your own custody or in the custody of a person duly authorized by you. Passports should not be sent out of the country of residence by post/courier.   If lost or destroyed, the fact and circumstances should be immediately reported to the nearest Indian Mission and the local police.  A photocopy of your passport should always be kept in safe place for easy retrieval as and when required.  In case of non-availability of a photocopy of the lost passport, the process of issue of duplicate passport is prolonged and may result in long delay. 

Suppression of factual information/furnishing of wrong information: It is an offence under the Passports Act 1967 to (i) suppress the factual information, or (ii) give false information in the Application, or (iii) willful damaged of passport, or (iv) making unauthorized changes in the passport. Such  acts  may lead to denial of passport facilities.

Acquisition of US/foreign Citizenship:  Possession of valid Indian passport consequent upon acquisition of US/foreign citizenship is not permissible under Indian laws.  It is therefore desirable that to surrender your Indian Passport to the nearest Indian mission/post.  The Indian passport is cancelled and returned to the individual.  The cancelled Indian passport is returned to the applicant and not repeat not retained in the Indian Mission/Post. The cancelled Indian passport should be kept in safe custody, as it may be required at the time of applying for the PIO card/OCI status; for seeking  separate passport for children, if it contains an endorsement to that effect. 

MAILING SERVICE:

Outstation applicants may send their application(s) for various consular services by mail, except for attestation of PoA, Life Certificate, Lost/Damaged Passport.   Emergency service is not repeat not rendered in cases where documents are received by mail. The documents received by various categories of mail like FedEx, Airborne, Certified mail, Registered mail, Express mail, Regular mail etc. are treated at par. 

For return of the documents/passport(s) by mail, please send a self-addressed and adequately stamped envelope along with your application. For despatch of documents/passports by express mail, please send an additional amount of $15 for a single passport ($ 1/- for each additional passport) to cover the mailing expenses. THE CONSULATE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF DOCUMENT DURING TRANSIT IN MAIL.  

Please refrain from making telephonic/fax/e-mail enquiries before the expiration of the processing period indicated for various services under Passport Instructions. 

MODE OF PAYMENT:

  At the Counter:  Cash or Money Order or Postal Order or Certified Check.                                PERSONAL CHECKS / CREDIT  &  DEBIT  CARDS  NOT ACCEPTABLE.

     By Mail:                Money Order / Postal Order / Cashier Check

                                           PERSONAL CHECKS NOT ACCEPTABLE

For best results, make sure you have installed version 3.0 or later of the Acrobat Reader. Cash is accepted only when the application is submitted in person at the counter in the Consulate within prescribed hours.  Please ensure to collect a receipt for the fee paid as the same need to be presented at the time of  collection/pick up of passports/documents from the counter. 

NOTE:  Fee once paid is non-refundable, even if the application is withdrawn or service refused.

All applications on the Consulate’s website are in Portable Document Format (PDF). These cross-platform documents ensure that users will be able to obtain publications in their original format regardless of what platform, software, or configurations they use to access the Internet.

In order to view PDF documents, however, users must first download the free Acrobat Reader software, which lets you view, navigate through, and print PDF documents. Detailed instructions for downloading and installing the Acrobat Reader are available at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html. If you are not able to complete the indicated procedure, a Troubleshooting guide is available

 
General Instructions on Passport & Visa :

(a)   Passport is a valuable document. It should be kept renewed/valid at all times irrespective of fact whether any travel is required or not.  It should always be either in the custody of passport holder or in the custody of a person duly authorized by the passport holder. If lost or destroyed, the fact and circumstances should be immediately reported to the nearest Indian Mission and to the local police.

(b)   A photocopy of the passport should be kept in a safe place.  In case of loss of passport, this is required to be submitted alongwith the application for expediting the process for issue of a new passport. 

(c) It is an offense under the Passports Act 1967 to give false information in the Application. Passport facilities can be denied on grounds of suppression of factual information, submission of false particulars, willful damage of passport and for making unauthorized changes in the passports.

(d) Your passport can be impounded or revoked by the Govt. of India under the provisions of the Passports Act 1967 in which event you will have to surrender the passport to the nearest Indian Passport authority.

 2.   JURISDICTION OF INDIAN EMBASSY AND OTHER INDIAN POSTS IN U.S.:   Applicants residing within the consular jurisdiction are only eligible to seek consular services from the respective Indian Mission/Posts.  Consular jurisdiction of Indian Mission/Posts in USA is given below:

·         Embassy of India, Washington:  Delaware, Washington D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, The Bahamas. Address: 2107 Massachusetts Ave., Washington D.C. 20008. Tel. 202-939-7000 Fax: 202-265-7532.

·         Consulate General of India, New York: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and the Virgin Islands. Address: 3 East 64^th St.(Bet. Madison AND Fifth Avenue), New York, N.Y. 10021. Tel.(212)879-7800 Ext.206,(212)879-7805 / 7806. Fax (212)570-9581,

·         Consulate General of India, San Francisco.  Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, California.  Address: 540 Arguello Boulevard, San Francisco, CA - 94118. Tel. 415-668-0662, Fax: 415-668-9764.

·         Consulate General of India, Houston:, which covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi. Oklahoma, Texas.  Address: Suite 600, 6th Floor, 3 Post Oak Central, 1990 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, Texas - 77056. Tel. 713-626-2148, Fax: 713-626-2450.\

3. TIMING:    Applications for all passports / consular services (Like issue of new / duplicate passports, renewals and miscellaneous services on passports, legalization / attestation of documents) are accepted ONLY  between 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on working days.   Except issuance of New Passports, PIO Card, PCC, J1 Waiver, same day service is rendered for all miscellaneous consular matters if  application is deposited up to 12:30 p.m. No application is received after 12:30 p.m. except in cases of emergencies i.e. death in the family against payment of Emergency Fee (US $35 per service for visa and US $90 for issue of each passport). 

Emergency  Services:  Visa to persons of Indian origin is issued on Saturdays and National Holidays  ONLY between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm in case of a genuine emergency like death or serious illness of a blood relation, subject to production confirmed air tickets for travel on the same evening/next day/early hours of next working day (for travel in evening hours of next working day, please visit the Consulate between 11 am to 1.00 pm).

                      Contact Nos:    312-595-0413     or     312-595-0554 or

                                               312-595-0405 to 0410  Extn: 235 or 224

4. Mailing Service:   Applicants residing within the jurisdiction of this Consulate may send their application(s)for passport/consular service by mail except for duplicate passport in lieu of lost/damaged passport and expired passport  for more than 1 year, attestation of PoA, Life Certificate. Marriage Certificate(in the form of Affidavit only) & Birth Certificate(in the form of affidavit only) are accepted only in person  & not by mail.

Mailing charges to be included if the applicant wants the documents to be mailed back to him or her after service:-
           Certified mailing: $5.00 (and $1.00 for each additional passport)
           Express mailing: $15.00 and $1.00 for each additional passport)
Note: Applicants who enclose self-addressed federal or other envelope should ensure that they have valid accounts with concerned agencies.

5.  Mode of Payment: Fee should be paid by Money Order / Bank Draft / Certified check in the name of the Consulate General of India, Chicago.   Cash is accepted only at the counter. Payment through any other mode viz personal checks, credit cards etc. is not accepted at counter as well as through mail.  The current rate of fee for various consular/passport services is applicable as of Monday April 01, 2002

Incomplete/incorrect applications, short of fee or supporting documents, including photo copies of required documents etc will be returned back at applicant’s cost.  Consulate will not repeat not be responsible for loss of documents in mail.

IT IS ILLEGAL TO SEND  OUT YOUR PASSPORT OUT OF THE COUNTRY OF YOUR PRESENCE EITHER  BY POST OR COURIER.

Please tender the exact amount in the form of Money order/Bank Draft/ Certified Check in the name of Consulate General of India or by cash at the counter. Please retain  your receipt for any money paid at the counter and present the same for collection of passports / documents between 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day of collection.

6. Photo: Passport size coloured photographs (of 3.5 cm X 3.5 cm), against white background,  showing full frontal view of the face are only acceptable for Consular/Passport Services.

8. Extension of validity of current passport:  Validity of the passport can be extended upto 10 years from the date of issue (if the current validity is less than 10 years).  For this "Application Form for Extension of Validity", along with two photographs, photocopies of first five pages of the passport and U.S. visa pages/Green Card should be submitted. If you are holding a short validity passport, If the application is found in order and if no prior reference is required to be made to the original Passport Issuing Authority, the validity of the passport will be extended in the normal course. (GRATIS)

11. APPLICATION FOR CHANGE IN DATE OF BIRTH IS NOT ACCEPTED UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY A DICTORIAL COURT ORDER ISSUED BY A JUDICIAL OFFICER NOT BELOW THE RANK OF FIRST CLASS MAGISTRATE IN  INDIA. Kindly note that any affidavit, original birth certificate etc. are not sufficient for this purpose.

12. Emergency Services: An additional amount of $90 is charged for rendering emergency passport (during working days only) and  $35 for other miscellaneous consular & visa service. This service is available only in cases of genuine emergency such as death or serious illness in the family and cases not falling under prior approval categories. Applications for emergency services can be submitted from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on all working days. Emergency Service on weekends & holidays is available only for visa for persons of Indian origin. 
 

 FOR VISA:

              Mr. Jagdish Rai Consul (CA)         :           312-587-8271

              Mr. A.K. Sawhney                          :           773-561-7026 

 The residential telephone numbers given above  be used only during week end in an emergent situation and  not for making routine consular enquiry

13. Incomplete/Flase Information:  Application forms should be filled in fully , legibly (In capital letters) and accurately and submitted with the passport. Misrepresentation of the facts may result in denial of passport / Consular service. Applications received with incomplete details will remain unprocessed.

14. Refunds: Fee, once paid, is non-refundable even if the application is withdrawn or application rejected for service.

17. Forms:  All forms are available at the Reception Desk as well as on our website  www.indianconsulate.com under the title “Download Forms” on Home Page.

18. Appeal: The Consulate earnestly appeals to the members of the Indian community not to pay more than the prescribed amount of Consular fee to anyone or encourage any middlemen or agents as it spoils the reputation of the community. In any event, public should not make any payment for which receipt is not given by the Consulate. The community should take every precaution against accepting forged/counterfeit travel document from unscrupulous elements.

19 REQUEST: Passport holders are requested to periodically check their passport(s) and make sure that the revalidation/renewal is done within one year before the date of expiry/latest within 6 months from the date of expiry.    Delay in renewal of passport may cause hardships to the applicants.

20. STATUS ENQUIRIES:  Status enquiries for Passport, PIO Card, Attestation of Documents and OCI Card will be entertained as per following schedule:

·         Passport/Consular/Attestation   :   2 to 3 pm only 

·         PIO Card                                       :   12 to 1 pm only

·         OCI Documents/Applications     :   3 to 4 pm only

Note:  Enquiries are entertained only after expiration of processing period indicated under  respective services.

19. FOR TOURIST INFORMATION ON INDIA: Please write to Govt. of India Tourist Office, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 15, North Mezzanine, New York, N.Y. 10112. Tel. (212) 586-4901. Fax (212)582-3274.

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